Ryan Sessegnon‘s ongoing transfer rumours and links to Tottenham were a source of anxiety all summer for Fulham fans. Newly promoted from the Championship, in part due to the efforts of the precocious teenager under manager Slavisa Jokanovic, fans at Craven Cottage were nervous that a summer departure to Tottenham would put a dent in Fulham’s attacking quality.

They were therefore relieved when the transfer deadline passed, and Sessegnon’s talents were retained until at least January.

Remaining at Fulham, the attention turned to his prospective audition at White Hart Lane in the second weekend of Premier League fixtures.

As it turned out, due to issues with the new stadium, it was at Wembley instead.

Creative, but lacking some final product

Sessegnon, in terms of positioning, switched from his usual left wing to change places with Aboubakar Kamara. It led to an interesting dynamic as both players tended to dribble inside more and were playing wider to begin with than usual.

Sessegnon’s best chance of the first half came from a insightful sprint past Ben Davies in the 39th minute. He brought the quick pass from Jean Michel-Seri well and shifted onto his left, but was denied by the speed of thought from Hugo Lloris.

The World Cup-winning goalkeeper rushed out quickly to extinguish the teenager’s chance before it even caught. When Lloris smells danger he doesn’t hesitate, and when he gets it right, he gets it very right.

Just before the blow of the half-time whistle, Sessegnon had lost his marker and got to the byline, looking to put in a short cross. Sadly no-one was close to him.

Mitrovic goal

His enterprise on the right wing was rewarded with an assist. He called early for a back post cross and got onto the perfect ball from Scott Bryan. He was intending to shoot, and instead squared it via his shin to Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbian, on all fours at this point, strained to head the ball in.

A good team goal, nearly flubbed, but Sessegnon will breathe a sigh of relief to get on the assist sheet. He did well to create the chance with his run, after all, and cannot feel too bad.

Fulham pushed even further forward after scoring and Sessegnon was a large part of their attacking interplay. He passed well, delivering a lovely through ball to Kamara at one point after a long central dribble – his timing of when to release attackers and take on defenders was good.

However, he was at times guilty of trying too hard to make chances happen – he was dispossessed once or twice trying to beat defenders, and although he cannot solely be blamed for Fulham’s squandering of the ball in dangerous areas, he sometimes contributed to the team-wide phenomenon.

Defensive duties

Ryan Sessegnon and Aboubakar Kamara dropped deeper after conceding two quickfire goals to Tottenham in the second half. (Getty Images)

After conceding two goals in four minutes around the 75 minute mark to Spurs, Fulham shifted to a more defensive and counterattacking shape. Stung by Kieran Trippier‘s excellent free-kick – awarded after a foul on Dele Alli on the edge of the area – and Harry Kane‘s calm side-foot shot into the bottom right corner, Fulham sat back to stop conceding. Kane will also be glad to have ended his August hoodoo.

While Fulham had controlled the direction of play for large parts of the game, and Sessegnon’s quick feet had been a large part of that, in defence they relied more on his ability to make good decisions on the counterattack. He defended well, as should be expected of the former wing-back, keeping Alli under wraps. He also worked hard late into the match, sprinting forward from the penalty area frequently to get involved in counterattacks up the other end of the pitch.

No doubt Mauricio Pochettino will have been impressed with Sessegnon’s work rate, skill and selflessness (in some cases accidental). As he left the pitch, he tapped the badge on his chest, indicating he cherishes the club that gave him his break. Fulham fans may be hopeful it is a gesture that he’s not ready to move on quite yet.

Regardless of what deals may be done in a matter of months, Sessegnon can be pleased with how he acquitted himself against one of the top teams in the Premier League, the ranks of whom he would not look out of place among.

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